Method of color specification and, using the same, color column structure and color chart

ABSTRACT

A novel color system capable of quantitatively and directly specifying by numeric value a wide spectrum of colors including achromatic colors, chromatic colors, colorless transparency and colored transparency. The invention provides a color specification method for displaying colors using values including: (a) a cyan color specification value for displaying the cyan density as a numeric value from 0 to 100% with transparency as a reference; (b) a magenta color specification value for displaying the magenta density as a numeric value from 0 to 100% with transparency as a reference; (c) a yellow color specification for displaying the yellow density as a numeric value from 0 to 100% with transparency as a reference; and (d) a white color specification value for displaying the white density as a numeric value from 0 to 100% with transparency as a reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to technology for displaying colors usingnumeric values, and for making the color displayed by numeric valuesvisible. More particularly, the present invention is relates totechnology that is able to display colors using numeric values,including colors for transparent (including both achromatic transparencyand chromatic transparency) articles widely used for industrial productsand the like, and relates to color charts that are able to make visibleas a color sample the colors displayed by numeric values in this way.

BACKGROUND ART

“Colors” are something very familiar to humans, and as the current erais called “the age of color,” many colors are created and offered.Particularly for products including industrial products, there is noquestion that “color” is an important element that significantly affectsthe product value. In the light of this, for products includingindustrial products and the like, there is a high level of demand thatproduct “colors” be kept identical, from the perspective of maintainingproduct quality as well.

However, due to their characteristics, “colors” are difficult to definephysically, and establishing an objective index for them is difficult.One reason for this is that the recognition of “colors” is based onsubjective factors. Namely, this is based on the fact that currently,“colors” are recognized by the human brain which senses them withstimulation of the cone cells and rod cells when reflection,transmission, and or diffraction or the like occur with radiation oflight (electromagnetic waves) emitted from a light source such as thesun and that reflected light, transmitted light, or diffracted light orthe like is made incident on the human eye, in other words, based on thefact that “there is no color to the physical object itself,” and on thefact that “light also has no color at all.”

Specifically, as the most familiar color specification method,specification using the “color names” such as those stipulated in JIS Z8102 or JIS Z 8110, for example, are known. However, color names arelimited, and not only is it impossible to correspond to the manyexisting colors, but from the issues such as that even if we say “blue,”“red” or the like, there is also a difference in the level ofrecognition according to the individual. Also, there is a significantdifference in that “blue” for Japanese people is a purplish blue and“blue” for Americans indicates a greenish blue. It goes without sayingthat it is not possible for the concerned “color names” to be an indexthat satisfies the level of precision required for industry in thesociety of recent years.

In light of this, there is a demand for the establishment of a colorspecification method that quantitatively displays colors using symbolsor numeric values (called color specification values).

Then, as one method for this, a color specification system is known thatuses a Munsell color chart such as that stipulated in ASTM D 1535-80 orin JIS Z 8721. The Munsell color chart displays colors divided intothree attributes of hue (H), value (V), and chroma (C), and to displaycolors using numeric values according to the Munsell color chart, thisis done with each value of HVC noted together as shown in “5G5/10,” orthe like, for example. However, the Munsell color chart is divided forhue into five levels of red (R), yellow (Y), green (G), blue (B), andpurple (P), and expresses ten levels with YR, GY, BG, PB, and RPinserted between each of those, and for value, is divided into tenlevels with absolute black as 0 and absolute white as 10 and the otherlevels between these. Therefore, for hue, the subjective factor isstrong, and it is hard to say that it is always possible to specifyusing numeric values, in addition to which the clearly specified numberof colors is low in terms of levels. In actuality, those values areoperated by supplementing intermediate colors made by subjectivejudgment by adding numbers below the decimal point, whereby there is theproblem that color specification is even more vague.

Also, as another color specification method, as stipulated in JIS Z8701, proposed is a method (XYZ system display or CIE colorspecification method) with which colors are represented by numericvalues by calculating XYZ, which are called the tristimulus values. Thisis because the human eye has three spectral sensitivities in relation tovisible light, and this is an optical color specification method basedon a sensitivity to the physiological color stimulus of identifyingcolors with three visual senses combined including the X visual sensecorrelating to the red wavelength area, the Y visual sense correlatingto the green wavelength area, and the Z visual sense correlating to theblue wavelength area.

This XYZ color specification system (CIE color specification system) isexcellent in terms of being able to quantitatively specify color senseby humans simply with numeric values. However, with the XYZ colorspecification system (CIE color specification system), there were twoproblems. One of these is that with subtractive color mixtures, there isa complex relationship between the mixing quantities of the tristimulus(XYZ) values and the three primary colors (cyan, magenta, yellow) thatare the subtractive color mixtures primaries (subtractive primaries).Therefore, it is very difficult to forecast the color that will beobtained, making these difficult to handle. The other problem is thatsubtractive color mixtures have white as the reference color, and thesubject is a color that occurs by a mixture of the three primaries(cyan, magenta, yellow), whereby it is impossible to representtransparency. In particular, with industrial products which use manysynthetic resins as materials, the colors are non light emitting colors,and the same as with color materials, filters and the like, these arethe subtractive color mixtures for which, as the number of mixed colorelements increases, the brightness of the colors that are made by colormixing becomes darker subtractively (by subtraction). In addition tothis, there are many internal colorations used, and from the fact thatthere are many achromatic transparent and chromatic transparentproducts, as described above, the color specification methods using theXYZ color specification system (CIE color specification system) were notnecessarily effective.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

(Problems the Invention Attempts to Solve)

The present invention has been developed with the circumstancesdescribed above as the background, and it is one object of the inventionto provide a practical and novel color specification method for which itis relatively easy to forecast colors for the subtractive color mixturesbased on a color specification value, and that can specify colorsincluding transparency.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a specific colorspecification structure for design drawings, order charts, products, orthe like that follows this novel color specification method.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a color chartfor which colors specified by numeric values by the new colorspecification method according to the present invention described aboveis made visible efficiently as a color sample.

(Means for Solving the Problems)

There will be described modes of the invention created for the purposeof addressing the above problems. Elements employed in each modedescribed herein may be employed in any possible combination. It is tobe understood that the modes and technical features of the invention arenot limited to those disclosed herein, but may otherwise be recognizedbased on the teachings of the present invention disclosed in the entirespecification and drawings or that may be recognized based on concept ofthe invention recognized by those skilled in the art in the light of thepresent disclosure.

(The Present Invention Relating to a Color Specification Method)

The present invention relating to a color specification method is acolor specification method for displaying colors using values including:(a) a cyan color specification value for displaying the cyan density asa numeric value from 0 to 100% with transparency as a reference; (b) amagenta color specification value for displaying the magenta density asa numeric value from 0 to 100% with transparency as a reference; (c) ayellow color specification for displaying the yellow density as anumeric value from 0 to 100% with transparency as a reference; and (d) awhite color specification value for displaying the white density as anumeric value from 0 to 100% with transparency as a reference.

According to this kind of present invention, for example when the whitedensity is 100%, by suitably adjusting the cyan color specificationvalue, the magenta color specification value, or the yellow colorspecification value, according to the principles of mixing the threeprimary colors of the subtractive color mixtures, it becomes possible todo numeric value display of various types of chromatic colors andachromatic colors excluding transparency. Also, with the white densitynot less than 0 and less than 100%, by suitably adjusting the cyan colorspecification value, the magenta color specification value, and theyellow color specification value, according to the principles of mixingthe three primary colors of the subtractive color mixtures, it becomespossible to do numeric value display of various types of chromaticcolors and achromatic colors that have a degree of transparency.

In the present invention, each density of the cyan color specificationvalue, the magenta color specification value, and the yellow colorspecification value, is optical density, and it is preferable to usesingle color densities or spectroscopy densities. For instance, it ispossible for this to be interpreted as a transmission density with atransmission object, and as a reflection density with a reflectiveobject, but it is also possible to use an equivalent neutral density(END). Also, when an existing color is the subject, for example, it ispossible to measure the density using a visual densitometer or aphotoelectric densitometer. Then, for colors obtained according to eachcolor specification value, in specific terms, for example when weconsider a color film, when the cyan primary color C, the magentaprimary color M, and the yellow primary color Y are mixed respectivelyin mixing quantities c, m, and y, the color F that is obtained can beexpressed as shown by the equation below by considering Beer's law.F=Cc×Mm×Yy

Also, in the case of the subtractive color mixtures, accuratelyforecasting colors generated from the three primary colors mixing volumedescribed above is difficult. However, for example, it is possible to doan estimate using the Lambert-Beer law or the Kubelka-Munk theory or thelike according to the coloring subject or the differences in thecoloring agents used or the like.

Furthermore, with the present invention, the white density is reflectedon the transparency that is the reference for the cyan colorspecification value, the magenta color specification value, and theyellow color specification value, making the white density 0 is the sameas making each reference for the cyan color specification value, themagenta color specification value, and the yellow color specificationvalue an achromatic transparency, and making the white density 100 isthe same as making each reference for the cyan color specificationvalue, the magenta color specification value, and the yellow colorspecification value a white non-transparency.

(The Present Invention Relating to a Color Column Structure)

The present invention relating to a color column structure ischaracterized by being a color column structure for displaying colorsprovided with the following features: (a′) a cyan color specificationvalue display column for displaying the cyan density as a numeric valuefrom 0 to 100% with transparency as a reference; (b′) a magenta colorspecification value display column for displaying the magenta density asa numeric value from 0 to 100% with transparency as a reference; (c′) ayellow color specification value display column for displaying theyellow density as a numeric value from 0 to 100% with transparency as areference; and (d′) a white color specification value display column fordisplaying the white density as a numeric value from 0 to 100% withtransparency as a reference.

According to the color column structure of this mode of presentinvention, as is also apparent from the description of the colorspecification method according to the present invention described above,one color is specified by combining each numeric value respectivelynoted for the cyan color specification value display column, the magentacolor specification value display column, the yellow color specificationvalue display column, and the white color specification value displaycolumn. In particular, a color specified in this way is specifiedincluding the degree of transparency.

Therefore, by showing the color column structure of the presentinvention, for example, in design drawings such as industrial productparts diagrams and product drawings, or on an order chart or the like,it is possible to specify and do quantitative display of transactedindustrial product colors using numeric values, it is possible to dotransactions or the like efficiently.

(The Present Invention Relating to a Color Chart)

The present invention relating to a color chart is characterized bybeing a color chart comprising: (e) a hue color chart including aplurality of first color specification plates each using an X axis and aY axis representing coordinate axes orthogonal to each other withdensity of two of the colors among cyan, magenta, and yellow varied in arange from 0 to 100%, and each displaying mixed colors of the two colorson an orthogonal coordinate plane of the X axis and Y axis, theplurality of first color specification plates being arranged so thatoriginal points in form of crossing points of the X axis and the Y axisof the plurality of first color specification plates are arranged alonga variation of density of a remaining one color of the colors amongcyan, magenta, and yellow in a range from 0 to 100%; and (f) a valuecolor chart including a second color specification plate that displayswhite as a single color with the white density varied in a range from 0to 100% with transparency as a reference, wherein the color chart makesit possible to observe colors with the second color specification plateof the value color chart overlaid over each of the first colorspecification plates of the hue color chart.

For the color chart constituted according to this mode of the presentinvention, since both the first color specification plate and the secondcolor specification plate use transparency as a reference, it ispossible to make visible directly the mixed color synthesized byoverlaying these on each other. With this arrangement, it becomespossible to easily forecast the color generated by mixing cyan, magenta,yellow, and white at respectively specified densities.

The color chart according to the present invention may be formed by atransparent resin plate such as acrylic or the like, for example. Atthis time, it goes without saying that each density should be setconsidering not only the dye or pigment but also the plate thicknesswhen doing internal coloring.

Also, with the color chart according to the present invention, it isalso possible to vary each color density successively in non-stepfashion. Preferably, each of the first color specification plates has atwo dimensional grid form in suitable unit quantity increments of the Xaxis and the Y axis, and while also displaying each one of the mixedcolors for each of divisions of this grid form, and wherein the secondcolor specification plate has a one dimensional division form insuitable unit quantity increments, and a single color of each singlewhite is displayed on each division. Furthermore, it is preferable thatthe size of each division of the first color specification plate and thesecond color specification plate be substantially the same.

When using this kind of division structure, compared to when varyingeach color density successively, the number of colors displayed islimited by the number of divisions. However, this makes the colorspecifically easy to understand. It also becomes easier to observe usingoverlaying. Observation of the overlaid first and second color charts isperformed by transmitted light observation or reflected lightobservation considering the item to be chromatic or the like. It is alsopreferable to consider the observation state of the item to be chromaticfor the lighting when observing, and for example, it is possible to usea standard light of D65 or the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a pictorial drawing of a virtualcolor for giving a specific description of the color specificationmethod according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an explanatorydrawing showing first color specification plates that form the colorchart as an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is anexplanatory drawing showing a second color specification plate thatforms a color chart as an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 isan explanatory drawing showing a color column structure as an embodimentof the present invention.

PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

To make the present invention more specifically clear, a detailedexplanation is given of embodiments of the present invention whilereferring to the drawings.

First, FIG. 1 shows a pictorial diagram of a virtual color for giving amore specific description of the color specification method according tothe present invention. A illustrated solid body 10 has a cubic (cube)shape with sides of equal length, with one vertex 12 as the originpoint, three sides 14, 16, and 18 that are orthogonal to each other arean X axis, a Y axis, and a Z axis. In this way, the X axis, Y axis, andZ axis work together to form a stereoscopic, three dimensionalorthogonal coordinate system with the vertex 12 as the origin point.

Also, all of the X axis, Y axis, and Z axis have a fixed intervalgradated scale with one end origin point 12 as 0%, and the other end asa maximum of 100%, and particularly with the item shown by example inthe drawing, all of these X axis, Y axis, and Z axis respectively arenoted with a scale of 10 equal divisions.

Specifically, for this kind of solid body 10, when the Z axis value isz=0, a two dimensional orthogonal coordinate plane (X-Y plane) includingthe X axis and the Y axis is conceived. Then, orthogonal coordinateplanes parallel to this orthogonal coordinate plane are conceived toexist respectively according to the z value, so that this solid body 10can be thought of as having two dimensional orthogonal coordinate planesthat expand orthogonally along the Z axis being stacked in the Z axisdirection. When the X axis is similarly thought of as the reference,this solid body 10 may also be thought of as being a two dimensionalorthogonal coordinate plane (Y-Z plane) that expands orthogonally alongthe X axis being stacked in the X axis direction, or when the Y axis isthought of as the reference, it can be thought of as a two dimensionalorthogonal coordinate plane (Z-X plane) that expands orthogonally alongthe Y axis being stacked in the Y axis direction.

The value of each scale from 0 to 100 attached to the X axis, Y axis,and Z axis expresses with transparency as a reference the density of thethree primary colors (cyan, magenta, and yellow) of the subtractivecolor mixtures. Preferably, this density is a single color density withoptical density as one type, and to use, for example, a densitometerthat uses an integrating sphere and a photoelectric light receivingdevice to set a value that corresponds to an optical density measuredusing a publicly known optical densitometer with a simpler structure.Note that for this optical density, the measured light beam differsaccording to the subject. Transmitted light is the subject in the caseof optical transmission film or the like for which exclusivelytransmitted light color is a problem, but the reflected light is thesubject in the case of a light reflecting coating film or the like forwhich exclusively reflective light color is a problem.

Therefore, for the solid body 10 in the figure, the origin point 12 iscompletely transparent. Then, on the X axis, while the cyan densityincreases progressively from 0 to 100%, the color is specified so thatthe magenta and yellow densities are always 0. Similarly, on the Y axis,while the magenta density increases progressively from 0 to 100%, thecolor is specified so that the cyan and yellow densities are always 0,and furthermore, on the Z axis, while the yellow density increasesprogressively from 0 to 100%, the color is specified so that the magentaand cyan densities are always 0.

Specifically, with the illustrated solid body 10, when we consider thata total of 101 scales are added including 0 and 100 on each axis of theX axis, Y axis and Z axis, it is possible to uniquely specify usingnumeric values a total of 1030301 types (101×101×101) of colors bycombining the values of these three scales.

Furthermore, to be able to specifically understand each color that iscolor specified by the solid body 10 consisting of three orthogonal axes(X axis, Y axis, and Z axis), for example as shown in FIG. 2, it ispossible to conceive of those three axes as an X-Y plane and a pluralityof first color specification plates that are parallel to that, eachrespectively divided into 10 equal parts.

For example, when we think of the X-Y plane (z=0) as one first colorspecification plate 20, a grid shaped division of 10×10=100 is formed onthe first color specification plate 20, and for all of those divisions,the yellow density is 0 (z=0), and the cyan density (x) and the magentadensity (y) value combination is different, so mutually different colorswill be specified. Note that the x and y values for each of the divisioncolors can be the center coordinate point of each division, for example.Furthermore, separate from the z=0 first color specification plate 20,there are ten types (z=10%, 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, and100%) first color specification plates 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36,38 and 39 with different yellow densities in parallel to this firstcolor specification plate 20. Then, for all of those ten first colorspecification plates 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, and 39, thereare formed grid shaped divisions of 10×10=100, and simply by havingmutually different yellow density (z) for each of the first colorspecification plates 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, and 39, at the100 grid shaped division of each first color specification plate 22, 24,26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38 and 39, colors are respectively specifiedcorresponding to each combination of the cyan density (x) and themagenta density (y) values. As is understood from this, with thisembodiment, only in the Z axis direction including 0 and 100. Ultimatelythe first color specification plate is displayed divided into 11 types,and with a total of 11. There are 1100 (10×10×11) types of colors ofdivisions displayed.

In other words, the 1100 types of colors described above are allspecified and displayed in the total of 1100 divisions of the total of11 first color specification plates. Also, for this color specificationplate, on origin point 12 of the solid body 10 and the facing edge lineconnecting a facing vertex 40, black color is expressed by having thedensities of cyan, magenta, and yellow be the same as each other. Infact, this black color has the degree of transparency varied on the lineof the facing vertex 40 from the origin point 12.

As is apparent from this, the colors recognized by the solid body 10,specifically, the colors recognized by the plurality of first colorspecification plates 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, and 39described above are able to express all the subtractive color mixturesusing the three primary colors (cyan, magenta, and yellow).Particularly, by using transparency as the reference for the originpoint 10, it is possible to express each color that is created using thesubtractive color mixtures including the transparent color. Then, thosecolors can be specified uniquely using the numeric values of eachdensity x, y, and z of the three primary colors of cyan, magenta andyellow, and quantitative display is possible.

However, with the solid body 10 described above, since this is thesubtractive color mixtures, a white color system is not expressed.Therefore, it is not possible to create and specify a color system thatis whiter (a brighter color) than each single color of cyan, magenta,and yellow. In light of this, to make it possible to express and specifythe white color system, an example of a second color specification plate42 is shown in FIG. 3. This second color specification plate 42 usestransparency as a reference, varies the white density one dimensionallyin a numeric value range from 0 to 100 (%), and displays white singlecolors of varying density in sequence. With the second colorspecification plate 42 in FIG. 2, an item is shown as an exampleexpressing density of 0 to 100 divided equally into 10 parts. Note thatdensity is a value according to the primary color density for the solidbody 10 described previously.

Specifically, with this second color specification plate 42, at thepoint that the density h is h=0, this is an achromatic transparency. Thecolor specification at that point is the same as the color specificationat the point that the origin point (x, y, z)=(0, 0, 0) for thesubtractive three primary color solid body 10 described above.Meanwhile, with the second color specification plate 42, anon-transparent white color results at the point that the density h ish=100. However, with this embodiment, the colors of the 10 divisionsprovided on the second color specification plate 42 have densitiesequivalent to the center coordinate point of each division, so thatthere is no complete black or white.

Therefore, by combining the 11 first color specification plates 20, 22,24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, and 39 described above and the onesecond color specification plate 42, theoretically, as describedpreviously, it is possible to make visible specifically and as anexample all color ranges including chromatic colors and achromaticcolors that can be specified quantitatively using numeric values bycombining each value of x, y, z, and h.

When we consider expressing color using one solid body 10, conceptually,the transparency of the origin point of the solid body 10 can beunderstood as something that is converted to white color of a suitabledensity for the concerned second color specification plate 42 accordingto the density of the white color to be considered. In other words, thetransparency of the origin point of the solid body 10 is an itemconverted to a while color of any of the 10 types of densities expressedwith the second color specification plate 42. As a result, there is thespecific solid body 10 with the while color as a reference of the 10types of densities for the second color specification plate 42. It ispossible to understand this as a conception of a total of ten of thesolid bodies 10.

With this arrangement, a color specification system that considers up toa white color system is completed. With the example model shown in FIGS.1-3, at the facing vertex 40, when we consider points for which densitychanges are not seen already, the 101×101×101×100−100=103030000 types ofcolors are directly expressed as numeric values and specified bycombining each of the values of x, y, z, and h described above. Then, apoint of particular focus is that for the concerned color specificationsystem, by making any of the references of each value of x, y, z, and htransparent, it is possible to express color systems that also considertransparency. With this arrangement, it is possible to have a colorspecification also for synthetic resin molded products of the internalcoloring type, which are widely used for chromatic transparent products,for example.

Also, with the model shown as the example, all of the first colorspecification plates 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, and 39 andthe second color specification plate 42 are preferably formed using athin walled flat plate shape using a transparent material such asacrylic resin or the like. Therefore, by overlaying one first colorspecification plate division having a suitable x, y, and z value on adivision of a suitable h value of the second color specification plate42, it is possible to easily and schematically enable visual observationof synthetically created colors. Particularly, in the case oftransmission type filters and the like, this does not limit the firstcolor specification plate and the second color specification plateoverlay sequence.

Furthermore, as described above, for the color specification system, byspecifying combinations of each value of x, y, z, and h, it is possibleto uniquely express colors in a broad area including achromatic andchromatic transparency. Therefore, for specification of colors whenordering or manufacturing products, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, anorder chart or a design drawing 44 includes an input space for eachvalue “cyan density (x),” “magenta density (y),” “yellow density (z),”and “white density (h)” at a suitable location. A color column 46 of theshown structure for noting each specification value can be usedadvantageously. When specifying a plurality of colors for one orderchart or design drawing, it should be appreciated that a plurality ofthis kind of input column may be provided.

As is understood from the description above, with the model shown as anexample, the hue system color chart is formed by the first colorspecification plates 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, and 39, andat the same time, the value system color chart is formed by the secondcolor specification plate 42.

While the invention has been shown in detail hereinabove through thespecific embodiment, this is merely exemplary, and the invention shouldin no way be construed as being limited to the specific disclosure ofthe embodiment hereinabove. The present invention may be embodied withvarious other changes, modifications and improvements, which may occurto those skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scopeof the invention.

For example, as one method for expressing visibly a color specified bythe color specification method according to the present invention, asdescribed above, a color chart consisting of the first and second colorspecification plates 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, 36, 38, 39, and 42is effective, but the number of color display classifications for thiscolor chart is not limited to the 10 sections in each axis direction asshown in the example.

Also, the method for expressing visible colors specified using a colorspecification method according to the present invention is not limitedto the color chart shown in the example. In specific terms, as describedabove, it is possible to specify colors using numeric values with thecolor specification system. Therefore, it is also possible to create adatabase in which are recorded as electronic data colors that arecorrelated to each numeric value in advance, and using a computer, basedon this database, to display on a color display the colors specified byinputting each value of x, y, z, and h described above.

As is apparent from the description above, according to the colorspecification method of the present invention, it is possible toquantitatively and uniquely express a broad range of colors includingachromatic colors, chromatic colors, achromatic transparency, andchromatic transparency. With this arrangement, it is possible to easilyperform specification of colors for industrial products, for example,with a low labor burden and with sufficient precision using astandardized method.

Also, by using the color column structure according to the presentinvention, it is possible to specify colors of products and the like indesign drawings and the like, for example, both directly and simply byusing numeric values according to the color specification method of thepresent invention.

Also, by using the color chart of the structure according to the presentinvention, an approximate sample of a color directly specified by anumeric value using the color specification method of the presentinvention can be expressed to be visible with a simple structure andeasy operability.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The present invention is utilizable for the industrial productionprocesses or commercial transaction processes for products includingindustrial products in particular, and relates to the method ofspecifying color for products and the like, and to the colorspecification display structure for the color charts and drawings andthe like. Therefore, it is apparent that the present invention is usefulfor industrial purposes.

1. A color specification method for displaying colors using valuesincluding: a cyan color specification value for displaying the cyandensity as a numeric value from 0 to 100% with transparency as areference; a magenta color specification value for displaying themagenta density as a numeric value from 0 to 100% with transparency as areference; a yellow color specification for displaying the yellowdensity as a numeric value from 0 to 100% with transparency as areference; and a white color specification value for displaying thewhite density as a numeric value from 0 to 100% with transparency as areference.
 2. A color column structure for displaying colors comprising:a cyan color specification value display column for displaying the cyandensity as a numeric value from 0 to 100% with transparency as areference; a magenta color specification value display column fordisplaying the magenta density as a numeric value from 0 to 100% withtransparency as a reference; a yellow color specification value displaycolumn for displaying the yellow density as a numeric value from 0 to100% with transparency as a reference; and a white color specificationvalue display column for displaying the white density as a numeric valuefrom 0 to 100% with transparency as a reference.
 3. A color chartcomprising: a hue color chart including a plurality of first colorspecification plates each using an X axis and a Y axis representingcoordinate axes orthogonal to each other with density of two of thecolors among cyan, magenta, and yellow varied in a range from 0 to 100%,and each displaying mixed colors of the two colors on an orthogonalcoordinate plane of the X axis and Y axis, the plurality of first colorspecification plates being arranged so that original points in form ofcrossing points of the X axis and the Y axis of the plurality of firstcolor specification plates are arranged along a variation of density ofa remaining one color of the colors among cyan, magenta, and yellow in arange from 0 to 100%; and a value color chart including a second colorspecification plate that displays white as a single color with the whitedensity varied in a range from 0 to 100% with transparency as areference, wherein the color chart makes it possible to observe colorswith the second color specification plate of the value color chartoverlaid over each of the first color specification plates of the huecolor chart.
 4. A color chart according to claim 3, wherein each of thefirst color specification plates has a two dimensional grid form insuitable unit quantity increments of the X axis and the Y axis, andwhile also displaying each one of the mixed colors for each of divisionsof the grid form, and wherein the second color specification plate has aone dimensional division form in suitable unit quantity increments, anda single color of each single white is displayed on each division.